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Hobbyist vs Entrepreneur

If you haven’t noticed, I love words and digging into their meanings. My husband would probably say I just overthink everything. Can’t really argue that point either…but I digress. Names. Titles. Positions. To some people they are just words, but as I started this business, built up my Etsy shop and made my first few sales, I really started thinking about whether I was a hobbyist or truly an entrepreneur.

Initially, my motivation for the shop was to share my talent and have a direction for my many projects. Just as a hobby farmer raises animals for enjoyment and (not usually) for profit, Nothing Past Nine felt like an extension of my hobby – something to do for enjoyment. As the months went by, however, I started to notice that even with Etsy’s user-friendly platform and minimal sales, I still had to do a lot of “real business” tasks to manage. At first I brushed that off thinking that even a child running a lemonade stand keeps track of their sales and money. And then, of course, I started to think on it more, and more, and more…

Merriam-Webster defines “entrepreneur” on their website as: one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. No, I’m not dreaming up the next Apple computer in my craft room, but I organize, I manage, and I assume the risks of my little shop. People have expectations of me as soon as I list an item. To continue this metaphor filled post, I had a lightbulb moment that is similar to when you realize that there is no magical moment when POOF! you feel like an adult – it just happens! Never did I dream that I would be an entrepreneur but that is exactly what I am.

It can be hard to take ourselves seriously when a project, idea or business is in the early stages. Heck, it can be hard to yourself seriously at any stage of business ownership – cough, or life, cough, cough! What I find to be consistent among the entrepreneurs I see succeeding, though, is that they believe in themselves. Even when it’s a little risky! If you want to take your passion from hobby to business, don’t be scared to consider yourself an entrepreneur! I certainly wish I would have told myself that a couple of years ago.

Have you found yourself in this situation? Did you have plan for your life and when it strayed, you didn’t want to acknowledge, or maybe just didn’t realize things were different? Maybe you have a different take on this topic! Whatever your thoughts, I’d love to hear! Leave us a comment, or share on social media! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!